Great Masterpiece of Literary Theory: The Literary Mind and the Carving of Dragons and Chinese Culture: The Literary Mind and the Carving of Dragons and Chinese Culture

Author: Qi Liande
Publisher:
Publishing Date: 2005-04-01
Features: In the several centuries around the 6th century BC (known as the "Axial Age" by the German philosopher Karl Jaspers), the people of South Asia (Indians), West Asia (Hebrews), Southern Europe (Greeks), and East Asia (Chinese), after long periods of cultural accumulation, all reached a critical point in the history of their civilizations. People were no longer satisfied with mere intuitive reflections on reality but dedicated themselves to exploring the essence and laws of the universe, contemplating the position of humans as practical and thinking subjects in the vastness of time and space, and began to form profound rather than superficial, dialectical rather than rigid theories about the universe, society, and life. They recorded these ideas for the first time in complete texts, thereby consolidating, synthesizing, and elevating the previously nascent, scattered achievements in religion, science, literature, historiography, and philosophy. These limited but powerful texts that sing the "primordial spirit" of various civilizations can be called "cultural primordials." If the Vedas and Buddhist scriptures are the primordials of Indian civilization, the Avesta the primordial of Persian civilization, the Republic and Metaphysics of the pre-Socratic philosophers the primordials of Greek civilization, and the Bible the primordial of Jewish and Christian civilization, then in the Chinese cultural system, the "Five Classics"—the Book of Songs, the Book of Documents, the Book of Rites, the Book of Changes, and the Spring and Autumn Annals—stand as the primordials. The Confucian classics such as the Analects, the Mencius, and the Xunzi, the Daoist classics such as the Tao Te Ching and the Zhuangzi, the Mohist canon the Mozi, and the legalist masterpiece the Han Feizi—all hold the status of primordials. Additionally, foundational works in specialized fields, such as the Art of War by the military strategist Sun Tzu and the Yellow Emperor's Inner Canon in medicine, can also be ranked among the primordials.
Primordials systematically compile the wisdom of ancestors, their thoughts are original, and their themes are timeless. Thus, they possess a transcendent quality rooted in reality. Their reflections address universal questions about the universe, society, and life, and in answering these questions, they provide not empirical conclusions but philosophical prototypes; not rigid dogmas but open frameworks with broad "areas of uncertainty," leaving infinite space for later readers and interpreters to "concretize" and "reconstruct," allowing them to roam freely. This is what is meant by "The Book of Songs has no definitive interpretation, the Book of Changes has no definitive divination, the Spring and Autumn Annals has no definitive wording" (Essence of the Spring and Autumn Commentaries), and it is why primordials have been continuously interpreted and renewed over more than two millennia. The history of interpreting Chinese primordials is intertwined with the entire course of Chinese cultural history, mutually reflecting each other. The dialectics of history repeatedly reveal that development is not simply growth and increase; it does not always progress in a straight line but often unfolds through a series of spiral layers. In this way, "returning" is not always repeating the past but may be an upward form—a form of "awakening" the potential that things already possessed at their inception. As culture created by conscious humanity, it vividly demonstrates a spiral trajectory of development. For example, Europe's Renaissance, which revered ancient Greek culture, and the Reformation, which adhered to the Bible, were both developments and recreations of the "primordial spirit," and it was through such "returns" that European culture achieved historical progress.
This phenomenon of drawing inspiration from "cultural primordials" to gain a foundation for progress has also appeared many times in China, with the famous "Classical Prose Movement" being a typical example. Examining the modern history of Chinese thought and culture, such instances of "returning to the root to innovate" or "emancipating through retrogression"—that is, returning to the spirit of primordials to seek renewal—are ubiquitous. Of course, modernization is a cultural transition process full of changes and new life. Modern life is like a massive filter, either allowing or blocking elements of the past cultural tradition, and navigating the path of promotion and restraint through selection and rejection. Modern Chinese people, standing at the crossroads of civilization transformation and the salvation of national crisis, chose the adaptable philosophy, the sense of crisis, the distinction between Chinese and foreign, the concept of revolution, and the people-centered thought from the spirit of Chinese primordials. They collided and blended with relevant aspects of Western learning, thereby forging theories that played a significant role in modern China—social transformation theory, theory of national salvation, theory of the nation-state, theory of social revolution, and democracy.
Thus, the selective promotion and creative transformation of the spirit of primordials are an inherent part of modern and contemporary culture. This theme is one that the present and future generations must repeatedly explore and strive to practice. I have been engaged in the study of primordials for many years, yet I have manys and long for earnest discussions with friends. It is a great joy that the Henan University Press has launched the "Primordial Culture Series," which has made me feel as if I have good teachers and companions by my side. My delight is beyond words. The series interprets each primordial text from the pre-Qin period and elucidates its comprehensive influence on Chinese history, culture, and the Chinese national character, thereby revealing the sources of our modern spirit and the roots of our national culture. This series has lofty aspirations yet practical writing, making it a fine work enjoyed by both the learned and the general public. The organizers have asked me to write a preface, and I have composed the above to express my gratitude and to offer insights to the authors and readers of the series.
The Literary Mind and the Carving of Dragons is a remarkable book in the history of Chinese literary theory. However, due to its great distance from our time, its language is relatively obscure, and its content profound, making it difficult for most people today to understand easily. This book was written precisely for this reason—to introduce and interpret it in plain language for all readers. The book begins with the life story of Liu Xie.